Electric Vehicle Is it a Lifestyle or an ECO Revolution

In a recent interview, the Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli, took a jab at Elon Musk comment on "Electric Vehicle being a LifeStyle." This instance was motivated by Musk's comment on Singapore being slow to adapt to the ongoing Electric vehicle shake-up. 

Let's not get into the entire detail of who did what or what happed after that! Instead, we'll look at what electric vehicle mean to people. 

What is causing people to change from a regular fuel power vehicle to shift to an electric powered vehicle ? What is the reason behind the sudden boom in Electric Vehicle Market ?

Is it a lifestyle thing? Or Is there an actual concern for the environment?

Before going into this, here are some staggering numbers and statistics that might blow your mind. 

• One out of every 12 cars purchased in the UK is an electric vehicle
• Sales of Electric vehicle in the United States rose by 81 percent in 2018.
• Plug-in passenger car sales accounted for 2.1% of new car sales in 2018; this has risen from 1.3% in 2017 and 0.86% in 2016.
• The market for electric vehicles is expected to achieve 27 million units by 2030 from an estimated 3 million units in 2019 to a CAGR of 21.1%.

The market for electric vehicles (EV) is increasing worldwide, with no visible indication of a stop. The growing conventional fuel prices and their fading presence encourages the search for low-cost options. 

This massive demand for electric vehicles is driven by increased demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. The trend of vehicle emission reduction, owing to stringent laws and regulations is further fueling the market growth. 

THE LIFESTYLE :

Electric vehicles as a lifestyle might sound a bit exaggerated, but never the less a good marketing play. 

Who doesn't want to be the cool dude? 

The Lifestyle play is designed majorly for targeting the millennials. The Millennial generation has the potential to be the driver for the shift to electric vehicles.

Millennials are excited to jump on the electric vehicles movement, with many enthusiastic about the environmental advantages and the comfort of not having to stop at a gas station.

From their perspective, 

" The idea of removing the high fuel and car maintenance costs associated with ICE vehicles is a winner ? as is the opportunity to contribute actively to the fight against climate change."

THE ENVIRONMENT:

There was a time when a common man didn't care about the worsening environment. But now things have changed. The climatic changes, and the health hazards associated with it are becoming very evident. This has raised an involuntary fear and concern in every individual about the dying environment. 

Most of the developed nations have imposed stringent laws and regulation to control the pollution level. Since electric vehicles do not cause any pollution, there is a tremendous amount of interest flowing from investors, government, and individual buyers. 

There were some doubts regarding whether the process of making the battery necessary for these EV's causes more pollution. But studies have found that electric vehicles produce significantly lower lifetime emissions than regular-fuel-powered vehicles, regardless of the source of electricity.

THE CONCLUSION:

We can be conclusive about two things based on the above facts,

1. Pollution is increasing, and EV's could help reduce a significant chunk of pollution caused due to vehicles.
2. The trend for EV's has been kept on growing right from its introduction to the market and is estimated to rise to a higher level in the coming years.

Although an EV's cost may seem intimidating, it is essential to remember that electric cars come in a wide range of prices and are not linked to a hefty price tag exclusively. While Teslas leads the charge as the most popular EV, there are a number of mid-range options, such as the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, which can start you on the path to sustainability.

A lifestyle or an eco-revolution, it is sure that EV's is a much more convenient and eco-friendly way of traveling.